Rats On The Roof
by Autumn Butterfly
Summary: Ororo is trying to sleep after a stressful day, but rats on the roof are keeping her from doing just that. First fanfic ever. No flames, please, but constructive criticism is alway welcome.


**Hey, everyone. This is my first fanfic ever, so I'm just trying to figure out the publishing process. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I'm just playing with them a little.**

"Logan, what's this?" Ororo demanded.

Logan stared at her. What did she think it was?

"Beer?" he offered, raising his eyebrow.

"This. Is. A. _School_," Ororo said through clenched teeth, fixing him with an icy stare, "What happens if one of the students finds it?"

"Relax, Storm. I keep it locked in my room," Logan said, opening another bottle. There was already an untidy row forming on the windowsill.

"Oh, yes, that makes it really secure," Ororo snapped, "Never mind that walls and locks aren't an issue for most of the students. For goodness sake, Logan, you're meant to be setting an example!"

"Sure, Storm, because the students just love me. That's why whenever I leave this couch they suddenly have a class to attend, even if it's a Saturday. Not that I'm complaining," he added, drinking deeply, "Anyway, if you're so adamant about image, why don't you drag the Loch Ness Monster from his cave? Unless, of course, he's drowned in there."

Ororo sighed. Scott had taken Jean's death harder than most, retreating into his room and shutting out the rest of the world. Whenever Ororo checked in on him, he was just sitting on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the wall.

"He's drowning in sorrow, you're drowning in beer. What's better for the students to see?" Ororo said in a tired voice, pushing her hair back out of her face.

"Well, since he only emerges to eat and grab a Kleenex, the students aren't really _seeing_ anything. However, any damage this liquid gold can do is wiped out by my mutancy, in case you've forgotten. Including getting drunk," Logan added miserably, adding his bottle to the row.

"You have fascinating wishes," Ororo muttered sarcastically, heading for the door. She paused when she heard a strange pattering on the ceiling, and cocked her head to the side to listen.

"What's that?" she asked, alarmed, "Rats?"

"Elves," Logan replied, without looking up from his fresh bottle.

Ororo stared at him blankly for a moment, wondering what she'd just heard.

"Excuse me?"

"Elves. You know, pointy ears and teeth. Annoying. Prefer the night time," Logan continued, taking another swig.

"Are you sure you can't get drunk?" Ororo mumbled, walking out into the hallway.

Logan took a sip and continued quietly to himself, "Blue. Has a tail. Speaks foreign language or something. Prefer's running around on the roof instead of walking on the floor like everyone else."

There was nothing, Ororo decided, _nothing,_ that beat curling up in bed after a stressful day.

Ororo laughed bitterly to herself when she thought over her problems. Paying off the mortgage? Not a chance. Trying to stop a testy alcoholic mutant that was capable of murder, as well as vainly trying to keep a former friend out of the pits of grief-stricken depression caused by a death that had affected them all? Yeah, that sounded a lot more likely.

Then there was the matter of coming to terms with Jean's death herself. When did she get time for that? She knew the healthy thing was to make time, but she had none to spare. If she wasn't teaching, she was trying to help her colleagues come to terms with their doctor's hanging absence. And, because neither Scott or Logan were very approachable, all the students came to her for advice on how to cope. She wasn't a counsellor! She didn't even know how to cope herself!

She felt tears coming, and wiped them away angrily, burying her face in the pillow.

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter.

Ororo sat up abruptly, listening to the strange sound. She strained her ears in a vain attempt to catch what it was. Whatever it was, it was definitely walking on the roof rather than in it. Ororo frowned. Did rats do that?

Deciding to mention it to the Professor in the morning, she rolled on her side and tried to go to sleep.

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter.

Damn it! There was no way she could sleep with that racket. Already in a foul mood, Storm covered her head with a pillow in a dismal attempt to drown the noise out. No use. If anything, she felt like she could hear it clearer.

Throwing her pillow against her door in a temper, then quickly retrieving it again, Ororo sat in her bed, pondering what to do.

Then, an idea came to her. She was, after all, a mutant. She could just blow whatever it was off the roof. She'd have the pleasure of a good nights sleep, the Professor would have the pleasure of not being forced to pay a mutant exterminator, and the rats (for she didn't know what else it could be), would realise what a stupid mistake it was, to settle on the roof of a mansion full of mutants.

Ororo climbed out of bed and tiptoed over to her window. She had to make sure she didn't blow the critters into a tree. She didn't want to kill the damn nuisances; she just wanted them away from her sleeping place.

She shut her eyes and concentrated on the wind. Or, rather, the wind that would very soon exist. When she opened her eyes again, anyone who may have been watching (not very likely considering the late hour), would have been surprised to see they had changed to pure white.

The harder she concentrated, the more she felt. She channelled her energy into the wind and focused on blowing it out across the grounds. Amidst the gust she heard a few frantic scraping noises as the rats were dislodged from their hiding place. She peered out of the window, in order to aim the gust better. With her eyes squinted, she tried to spot the little rodents.

"Kurt!" she shrieked, when she saw a dark shape outside her window. He looked at her frantically, hanging in midair by the wind.

Immediately Ororo lost her focus and the wind died. She saw Kurt plunge briefly before he deftly grabbed her windowsill. Her eyes wide with surprise, she threw her window open and Kurt scrabbled inside, falling onto the floor. He rose to his feet and dusted himself off, before facing the shocked weatherwoman.

"Uh, danke, Fraulein Munroe," he said sheepishly, "That vas quite an unpleasant experience."

She only nodded. He looked at her, embarrassed, before gesturing out the window.

"If I may be so bold, mein freund, but… vhy vere you trying to kill me?" Kurt asked.

"K-kill you? No! I, uh, thought you were a rat. Erm… what were you doing on the roof?" Ororo asked.

Kurt looked confused for a moment. He had been compared to a lot of animals in his life, but Ororo's rat was a first. Personally, he couldn't see the connection.

"It's a good place to think. Very quiet. Vell, usually," he added.

"O-okay," she said shakily, "I think I'll just go to bed. Uh, sorry I blew you off the roof, Kurt. It won't happen again."

"Vell, that's reassuring," he said, opening her door.

He was on his way out when he turned back briefly. She hadn't moved.

"Crazy weather we're having," he grinned cheekily, closing the door quietly.

**Reviews, perhaps? Thank you for reading!**


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